The lawyer for a hotel maid who accused IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual abuse says she feels "alone in the world" and is telling the truth.

Jeffrey Shapiro says his client is from the west African nation of Guinea. He says the woman, who has a 15-year-old daughter, has "no agenda" and did not know even know who Strauss-Kahn was until a day or two after she was allegedly attacked on Saturday.

Her story of being attacked by Strauss-Kahn in the Sofitel hotel suite near Times Square is "consistent" because she is telling the truth, he said.

"There is no way in which there is any aspect of this event which could be construed consensual in any manner," Shapiro said. "This is nothing other than a physical, sexual assault by this man on this young woman."

He continued: "It's not just my opinion that this woman is honest. The New York City police department reached the same conclusion." He added: "This is a woman with no agenda."

Strauss-Kahn, 62, who denies all the charges, has reportedly been put on suicide watch at the infamous Rikers Island prison in New York, after being denied bail on Monday. According to the Associated Press the IMF chief has a whole jail wing to himself, a medical device to make sure he doesn't stop breathing during the night and guards checking him 24 hours a day to make sure he does not attempt to take his own life.

Defence lawyer Benjamin Brafman has said defence lawyers believe the forensic evidence "will not be consistent with a forcible encounter". He said "there are significant issues that were already found" that make it "quite likely that he will be ultimately be exonerated".

Shapiro said his client arrived in the US seven years ago from Guinea under "very difficult circumstances,", and lives in the city with her daughter.

The 32-year-old maid told authorities that she thought the suite was empty but that Strauss-Kahn emerged from the bathroom naked, chased her down a hallway, pulled her into a bedroom and dragged her into a bathroom, police said.

He allegedly forced her to perform oral sex, according to a court complaint. She broke free, escaped the room and told hotel staffers what had happened, authorities said. She was treated at a hospital for minor injuries.

Shapiro, who was introduced to the woman by a friend on Sunday, said that since the incident, she had not returned to her home and saw her daughter for the first time only on Tuesday.

"She's been the victim of a rape and physical assault, she hasn't had a chance to deal with that personally," he said, adding that he was organising for her to see a counsellor.

Shapiro described his role as trying to help her sort out her life and to explain the legal proceedings to her.

"She wants to remain anonymous because she's very much afraid that something could happen to her physically, she feels very threatened by this," he said of all the global attention on the case.